In the construction of glass block panels or walls, mortar or silicone sealant can be used to secure glass blocks to each other. Mortar poses several problems in its application onto glass blocks. It is difficult properly apply the correct amount of mortar needed to secure the glass blocks to each other. If too little mortar is used or it is improperly located the bond formed between mortar and glass is often inadequate. Mortar has a tendency to crack and become unsightly. Problems are known to occur when the glass blocks are improperly placed onto each other, causing the mortar to be squeezed out and the glass blocks to become misaligned. Mortar is often hand applied and its application, to make it reasonably sightly, is labor intensive and thus expensive.
In an attempt to mitigate these problems when mortar is used, silicone has been substituted. Silicone has been found to bond better with glass than mortar and to provide a more flexible bond, thus reducing the possibility the bond would crack. Along with the change to silicone, different methods and devices for applying silicone were developed. These methods include constructing glass wall panels in a controlled setting where integral spacers between the glass blocks are used to assure proper alignment of the glass blocks. Such methods are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,864 issued to Rosamond and U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,702 issued to Sholton.
Another highly effective apparatus and method for constructing glass walls in a controlled setting is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/873,127 filed on Jun. 11, 1997, and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,335, by Fox. The apparatus used includes a spacing rack for positioning glass blocks in a properly spaced alignment and automatic, controlled application rods for the silicone sealant.
Devices and methods for extrusion of resins on the peripheral edges of glass panels are known in the art. One such method for forming moldings (trims) on glass panels is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,828 to Yada et al. In this method two glass panels and an extrusion die are moved relative to each other, so that a flange of a synthetic resin or rubber is formed, thereby joining both panels. A device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,785 to Cornilis et al., is used in a process of manufacturing an automobile pane, where a polymer frame is extruded on the pane while the pane is being moved through a recess in an extrusion head. Alternatively, a molding may be formed on a peripheral edge of a horizontal article while either the extrusion die or the article is being moved, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,939 to Ito et al.
Hand tools known in the art include devices used to evenly apply a mortar layer on building units, including glass blocks. Such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 823,593 issued to Fisher and U.S. Pat. No. 2,403,335 issued to Bortolotti. They are not helpful, however, in providing a properly controlled amount of a sealant, such as silicone, in a form of a stream, as is needed when glass blocks are being sealed.
None of these prior art apparatii or methods are truly helpful, when there is a need, on-site, to build a mortarless glass wall, and especially when the construction conditions will not allow for use of spacers or a spacing rack, or if the major part of the wall is already built and there remains only an oddly shaped or sized part of the wall to be built. Similarly, none of these devices and methods adequately allow for supplementing the automated devices and methods in the construction plant when an odd sized or shaped glass wall needs to be built.
In view of the above it is apparent there exists a need in the art for a device and a method that can be used to build a regular or an oddly shaped or sized glass block wall on-site or to supplement automated devices and methods of building glass walls under controlled conditions, when the stream of sealant, such as silicone, is accurately and in an appropriate amount placed along the edges of the glass blocks to be sealed, without highly intensive and expensive labor skills being involved.